The Arizona sentinel., 1887-12-24
PRESIDENTS OF YALE.
Brief Sketches of Drs. WOOlsey, Porter
and Dwight.

Brief Sketches of Drs. Wooisey' 1or'er
and Dwight.
Three men who have been lnaugu-
rated to the presidency OF Yale are
still Presidents WOolsey
and Porter, and the present incum-
bent. DR.. Dwight. These three men
have been actively connected with the
college for more than half century.
On them has fallen the burden of the
welfare of the college. and to them
belongs the credit of building the Yale
of to-day on the foundations laid by
their predecessors. DR.. WoOlsey is no
longer active in efforts to benefit the
institution which commanded the best
years of his life. Of his successors
one stands at the helm, guiding his
charge to renewed prosperity and
greater renown, while the other has
lightened his labors TO suit the strength
of his declining years, but still re-
tains and daily gives instructions in a
most important prOfessOrship.
Il have been president of Yale Col
lege quarter of a, century. l have
served the college as long as the chill
dren of Israel were in the wilderness
and have lived as long as the Babylon
ish captivity" said President WOOL
sew. when he resigned the presidency
in 1871. He was then a venerable
man whose years of toll and study had
not left him without their impress.
Sixteen additional years have passed,
but his physical and mental faculties
survive in a remarkable degree. and
at the age of eighty-six he has all the
attributes which Cicero claimed for the
aged in his DE Senectute. To this
day his time is passed in studies and
philosophical reading which would
weary many younger and less vigorous
intellects. To him Yale owes debt
she can never pay; for during his adj
ministration of her affairs the under
graduate department underwent a
thorough reconstruction, and those
principles of teaching which have
made Yale world-famed were adopted.
To ex- President Porter is due the
credit of carrying on this work inau-
gurated by his predecessor in the I'M
dergraduate departments and the build
ing up and simplifying of the graduate
schools of instruction. Under his in
struction the college seed ripened into
the university flower ready to be nurt-
ured and sustained by his successor,
DR.. Dwight Advancing years made
the burden too heavy for him, and he
laid a part of it aside. still continuing,
however, to hold the prOfessorshIp Of
moral philosophy and metaphysics.
The tightening of his burden had an
immediate effect upon his health to
such an extent that his associates have
remarked upon it. His tour in Europe
has had an additional beneficial effect,
and he is now in the prime of his men,
tai powers.
Of Dr. Dwight who now stands at
the head of the University, little need
be said. Although he has held the
reins but year, his influence is al
ready manifest in the unifying of the
different departments and a progress
i've spirit which retains the best of
Yale's former conservatism, leavened
by modern push and progress. His
appearance on public occasions as
Yale's representative and his success
as an orator have created wide
spread interest in her affairs and
spread knowledge of her needs.
For many years DR.. Woolsey has
spent the vacation season among the
historic hills of LiSchfield County, his
favorite resort being West Cornwall, n
small hamlet fifty miles north of
Bridgeport on the Housatonic railroad.
He inclines to the opinion that much of
his continued physical vigor is due
to the benefit he has received dur
ing those brief annual outings. The
delightfully."- pure air, the wild mount
ain scenery, the perfect quiet of the
New England homestead, all have
served to restore wasted mental
energies and renew the physical of
the venerable man who is dear to the
hearts of so many Yale men all over
the country. In pleasant weather
Dr. Woolsey visits the post-office
twice daily. He always chooses the
walk nearest the historic green which
has been made the subject of so many
sketches of which he was the
author He spends many hours in
his study, which is located in coy
corner of his residence on Church
street. There he is visited by many
Yale men temporarily in New Haven.
1t is said that with a few exceptions,
he is able instantly TO recognize such
of his visitors as were connected with
the college when he was its official
head. One of the chief evidences of
DR.. Woolsey's wonderful memory is
the fact that he is able to recall near
ly every interesting event that &C.
CURED during the college life of those
who were graduated during the time
he was president.
DIR. Porter devotes considerable time
to literary work which he expects to
place in the hands of the publishers
during 1888. He is also supervising
the revision of Webster's dictionary. a
work which has been in progress in
this city during the last three years.
He is the chief of a score of editors
and about fifty clerks who are con-
stantly engaged on the work.
DR.. Porter's recollection of indi-
vidual Yale men is probably not so